The safe and accountable disposal of biologically contaminated sharp instruments is of great concern to medical and public health personnel. Such instruments are sometimes referred to by the shortened "sharps". This concern is caused by the presence of AIDS and other serious, communicable diseases in patients being treated, and the possibility that such diseases could be transmitted to medical personnel in the treatment area or to others handling contaminated materials from the treatment area. The problem is particularly acute with respect to sharp instruments, such as syringes, in that AIDS and other diseases can be communicated through breaks in the skin. The problem is exacerbated by drug abusers, who are known to salvage and reuse syringes without due regard to the possible consequences.
Accordingly, there is a need for disposal systems which provide for the immediate security of contaminated sharps, preferably also accounting for the number of sharps in the treatment area, and also providing for long term security of the sharps during storage, transport and ultimate disposal.
The products now available for disposal of sharps generally comprise a container having a restricted opening thereto, whereby the sharps are inserted through the restricted opening and confined within the container. The opening may be protected by a spring biased door and the container itself is generally designed to be unopenable or at least difficult to open. The containers are generally constructed of polypropylene, and may be autoclaved and incinerated.
There are weaknesses in the present disposal system. A primary weakness is that there is no accountability for the number of sharps, i.e., it is not readily apparent how many sharps have been inserted into a container for disposal. Further, since the openings are operable during the time the containers are filled and taken away, there is the possibility of unauthorized retrieval of the sharps through the openings, or of opening a container by force to remove the sharps. No provision is made for diminishing the infectious nature of the sharps, which remain dangerous at least through the time of autoclaving or incineration. A step such as autoclaving or incineration is therefor absolutely necessary in the disposal process.